Check! That’s the one thing I advise you to make part of your life and work DNA, if at all possible.

In this crazy busy, speed-of-now world in which we inhabit, many of us are publishing things the moment we’ve created them. we’re getting things out the door almost as fast as they’re coming into us. In this chaotic, hectic environment it’s easy to forget about the detail.

But consider all the possible instances in your work and home lives when attention to the small things matter:

That typo you asked the designer to change in the final proof before you go to print

That email someone offered to draft for you to go out to your customer

The final touches to the room your painter-decorator promised to do

The locking wheel-nut your mechanics said they would put back under the spare tyre in the boot of your car

The read-through of your blog post to check for mistakes, before someone else finds them

Any work you’re paying for

You’re not micro-managing people when you do this. You’re professionally closing the loop on something you’ve asked to be done, or something you’re doing yourself. No sense in messing up the landing when you’ve flown all this way.

Always check if you can. A second spent now will save you minutes or even hours and money later.